Rosko Shane Specman (born 28 April 1989) is a South African

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player for the in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

, the in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

and the in the Rugby Challenge. He played rugby sevens for the

South Africa national rugby sevens team The South African national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. Overall, the team has won the World Rugby Sevens Series 4 times, as well as ...

between 2014 and 2018 and also played

rugby with the from 2010 to 2012, the from 2013 to 2015 and the in 2017. His usual position is winger. Specman was a member of the South African Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Rugby career

Youth

At youth level, Specman played at the 2007 U18 Academy Week for Eastern Province Country Districts and then for the (now ) U19 team in the 2008 U19

competition.

Vodacom Cup

In 2009, Specman moved to the , where he played in their U19 team. He made his debut for the Sharks in the

2010 Vodacom Cup The 2010 Vodacom Cup was contested from 26 February to 7 May. The 2010 Vodacom Cup is the 13th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Pre ...

quarter final game against . He was a first choice player in the U21 team that year, scoring three tries. The following season, he scored four tries in five appearances in the

2011 Vodacom Cup The 2011 Vodacom Cup was contested from 25 February to 13 May 2011. The tournament was the 14th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South A ...

and made another five appearances in the

2012 Vodacom Cup The 2012 Vodacom Cup was played between 10 March and 18 May 2012 and was the 15th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions, ...

. Specman joined the for the 2013 season. He was a member of the Pumas side that won the

Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

for the first time in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, beating 24–7 in the final. His only appearance during the season came in the final after returning from

South Africa Sevens The South Africa Sevens is an annual rugby sevens tournament that is held in South Africa. It is currently hosted in Cape Town and is part of the Sevens World Series run by World Rugby. A South African leg of the World series has been included ...

duty.

Representative rugby

In 2013, Specman was included in a

South Africa President's XV The South Africa President's XV is a South African rugby union team that represented South Africa in the 2013 IRB Tbilisi Cup. They won the tournament, winning all three matches, but did not take part in the 2014 edition. Previously, an Emerging ...

team that played in the

2013 IRB Tbilisi Cup The 2013 IRB Tbilisi Cup was the inaugural edition of this international rugby union tournament, created by the International Rugby Board and was played from 7 to 16 June 2013 at the Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi. The hosts Georgia were joined by Ur ...

and won the tournament after winning all three matches. Specman was also called into a

training squad in 2013 and was included in the Sevens squad for the USA leg of the

2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series The 2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC Sevens World Series, was the 15th annual series of rugby union sevens tournaments for full national sides. The IRB Sevens World Series has been run by the Internation ...

. Specman was included in a 12-man squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

. He was named as a substitute for their first match in Group B of the competition against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, with South Africa winning the match 24–0.

Cheetahs

Along with sevens teammates

Cecil Afrika Cecil Sebastian Afrika (born 3 March 1988) is a South African rugby sevens player for the South Africa national team, where he plays at flyhalf. He also plays for the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR). Afrika was a member of the ...

and

Chris Dry Christopher Adriaan Dry (born 13 February 1988) is a South African professional rugby union player, currently playing with the South African Sevens team in the Sevens World Series. His regular position is a flanker. Youth rugby Dry played r ...

, Specman announced that he was joining the

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

beginning in 2017. He scored his first

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

try at home in October 2017 against the

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

Bulls

On 10 October 2018, it was announced that Specman would join the in

and the in the

from 2019, following the completion of his commitments with the

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Specman, Rosko South African rugby union players Living people 1989 births Rugby union wings Sharks (Currie Cup) players Pumas (Currie Cup) players People from Makhanda, Eastern Cape South Africa international rugby sevens players Rugby sevens players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic rugby sevens players of South Africa Olympic bronze medalists for South Africa Olympic medalists in rugby sevens Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Rugby sevens players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games South Africa international rugby union players Free State Cheetahs players Cheetahs (rugby union) players Bulls (rugby union) players Blue Bulls players Stormers players Rugby union players from the Eastern Cape Alumni of Kingswood College (South Africa) Griquas (rugby union) players